Thursday, July 31, 2014

All summer long, Soundcheck has been turning back the clock 20 years, and revisiting the big hit songs, the important albums and more from the summer of 1994. Relive that era and its music with a giant Spotify playlist featuring Weezer, Nas, Jeff Buckley, Lisa Loeb, and so much more.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Professor and author of the 33 1/3 book on Grace, Daphne A. Brooks talks about her favorite tracks from Jeff Buckley's alternative rock masterpiece from 1994, his early days performing in the Lower East Side, and his tragic death in 1997.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Monday, July 21, 2014

In our occasional series That Was A Hit?!? pop chart analyst and contributor to NPR Music and Slate Chris Molanphy returns to our studio to tell the story of 1994's summer smash "Regulate" by Warren G and Nate Dogg.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Kristen Meinzer and Rafer Guzman from The Takeaway’s Movie Date podcast look back 20 years to a huge blockbuster from 1994, Forrest Gump, and its overstuffed soundtrack of classic rock hits. They explain where the movie does justice to the music, and where the soundtrack falls into the trap of cliche.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Nasir Jones -- the hugely successful and influential rap emcee known as Nas -- is one of the greatest musical voices to emerge from New York City. In a conversation with Soundcheck, Nas reflects on his 1994 debut album Illmatic -- which now being reissued to commemorate its 20th anniversary -- and a documentary film.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Pop chart analyst Chris Molanphy talks about the rise of modern rock and how it became an alternative radio format; how musicians like Trent Reznor and Eddie Vedder were forced into the top 40 spotlight; and about the influence that this "alternative" genre has had on music over the last 20 years.

Friday, July 11, 2014

This summer marks the 20th anniversary of Brooklyn rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s landmark debut, Ready To Die. Soundcheck talks about the album and Big’s short-lived career with cultural critic Dream Hampton -- a friend and later, a producer of several documentary films about him.

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Monday, July 07, 2014

Twenty years ago, Lisa Loeb's "Stay (I Missed You)" was everywhere: on the Reality Bites soundtrack, on heavy rotation on MTV, and on the Billboard Hot 100 -- at No. 1 for three weeks in August. Mario Correa and Julia Cunningham of Sirius XM’s Entertainment Weekly Radio tell the story of the song.